By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The 2017-18 Tennessee Tech men's basketball season may still be months away, but for one Golden Eagle, a new season is just beginning.

Junior guard Stephaun Adams will represent his native U.S. Virgin Islands as a member of the USVI men's national team, which will be competition in the FIBA AmeriCup Championships Sunday, Aug. 27.

"It's a tremendous honor," Payne said. "Any time you can represent your country and go play at the venues and face the competition he's going to play against, just what a tremendous opportunity that's going to be. I can only imagine the pride he's going to have representing the [U.S.] Virgin Islands and we're just proud for him."

The USVI team kicks off its FIBA AmeriCup quest with pool play in Group B, which slates Adams and the rest of his teammates against Canada on Sunday, Venezuela on Monday and Argentina on Tuesday. Group B will compete in Bahia Blanca, Argentina while Group A and Group C action will take place in Medellin, Colombia and Montevideo, Uruguay.

Adams helped lead the USVI team to a decisive, 96-71 scrimmage victory over James Madison University Wednesday night, dropping 18 points on near-perfect shooting. The native of St. Thomas finished 7-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, while also dishing out four assists.

He also helped lead his squad to a victory over Vanderbilt in a scrimmage on Aug. 13, as the USVI national team used a late 14-0 run to claim the 81-78 win.

Adams appeared in all 32 contests for the Golden Eagles as a sophomore last season, averaging 3.4 points 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He also made five starts on the year and shot 73.8 percent from the charity stripe.

Photo by Tony Marable